With the severe cold and winter storms we’ve experienced in 2020 and 2021, we thought it would be a good idea to have a way to heat a large room in an emergency.
Some of you probably have the Mr Heater Buddy (Model MH9BX) and Mr Heater Big Buddy (Model MH18B) propane space heaters. If you’ve actually used one, you know that the 1 lb propane bottles aren’t the way to go for longer-term heating, so it’s time to find something better, like a 20 lb or larger propane cylinder. This is where it can get confusing. There are a lot of different hoses, including ones made by Mr Heater, and several different ways you can make this work.
Hose With 1 Inch Throwaway Cylinder Thread Connectors
One common type of hose has 1 inch throwaway cylinder thread connectors – male on one end, and female on the other. These work OK if you’re coming off of a propane distribution tree, but if you wish to connect directly to a large propane cylinder, you’ll use a hose with a POL connection on one end and a male 1 inch cylinder thread connector on the other, and that end plugs into the heater. Right?
Not so fast. That brings us to the issue of the Mr Heater propane fuel filter (SKU F273699). Mr. Heater demands that you use a fuel filter on the end of your hose before you connect to the regulator on your heater because of high-pressure propane leaching “contaminants” from the rubber hose. I’ve used their propane filter before, but they will run anywhere from $10-$20, and they recommend replacing them every year. And they’re often out of stock.
It’s time to find a better solution. If you have a Big Buddy Heater, consider using the quick connect fitting instead. If you go YouTubing, you’ll find a lot of Mr Heater videos, but not many reference the fact the Big Buddy has a quick connect fitting behind the regulator inside one of the propane tank compartments.
I had a low pressure propane kit on-hand that I purchased a few years ago, which contains the POL connector for the tank, a low-pressure regulator, and a 10 foot hose. All I needed to connect my kit to the quick connect on the Big Buddy heater was a 3/8″ flare to 3/8″ MIP union/nipple and a 3/8″ quick connect fitting. And the regulator on the tank side means that my hose is carrying already-regulated propane – low pressure – so no need for the fuel filter.
Let’s look at pictures from the below gallery.
Image 1 and 2 are of the Big Buddy heater with the left compartment door open.
Image 3 is a better shot of the built-in regulator and the quick connect fitting located behind it.
Image 4 is the whole low-pressure hose assembly, with the kit and my add-on parts. The POL connector is on one end, then the regulator, the hose itself, the nipple that joins the hose to the quick connect, and the quick connect fitting.
Image 5 is the POL and regulator end in more detail.
Image 6 is the quick connect end in more detail.
Image 7 is the quick connect attached to the Big Buddy heater.
Last is a brief video of the heater running.
I like this setup the best of the various options. Mr Heater does make this hose with regulator and quick connect (SKU F271803). Depending on where you purchase, it will set you back $50-55. It’s up to you whether you buy theirs or make your own.
And one last option is an “updated” hose from Mr Heater (SKU F273704). This hose has the POL connection, but a male 1 inch cylinder thread connector to plug into the regulator instead of the quick connect. Why consider this one? Two reasons. Mr Heater assures us this hose uses new, redesigned materials so you no longer need the fuel filter. This is reason enough to consider getting one, but the main reason you want one is it will allow you to connect a large propane cylinder to the smaller Buddy heater.
Verdict
If you have a Big Buddy heater, I highly recommend either purchasing their quick connect hose or making your own. And if you own one of the other Buddy heaters, get the updated hose so you can skip the filter and run silent run deep…on a large propane cylinder.
